Tiffany Haddish emotionally defends trip to Israel ‘to learn and see with my own eyes’

‘I can’t believe everything that I read,’ said the comedian and actor. ‘I need to go see for myself’

Tiffany Haddish got emotional while defended her decision to travel to Israel in order to learn more about the 7 October attacks and their aftermath.

On Tuesday (21 February), the comedian and actor, 44, announced on her Instagram Live page that she was on her way to visit the Middle East. “I’m gonna meet my future man out there,” Haddish said, in a video that was later reposted by Israel’s official Twitter account. “I’m going to the Holy Land.”

Speaking to TMZ, the Girls Trip star said that the reason for her trip was to understand more about what is happening on the ground in the country.

“I can’t believe everything that I read,” she said. “I need to go see for myself. I want to talk to the actual people that’s here, the people that actually experienced the situation that happened on the 7th.

“The people that actually have family members that are hostages that were taken out of their own homes, that were on their way to work driving from Palestine to Israel, working here on a daily basis, and how they were taken as well. I wanted to talk to the people. I wanted to be with the people. I wanted to see with my own eyes, hear with my own ears.”

Asked what she had heard since arriving in the region, Haddish responded: “I’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned that people were taken out of their homes. I’ve learned that people were taken away from the actual event that was happening.

Tiffany Haddish in Las Vegas in February 2024 (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

“There were a lot of people killed, but a lot of people were kidnapped from that event. I didn’t know that before. I’ve learned that there were 100 people that have been freed from being hostages in Gaza, but there are still 100 plus people that are over there.”

Haddish was then asked whether she would also be looking at Israel’s retaliation in Gaza, which health officials say has resulted in over 25,000 deaths.

“Yes, I’m going over there too,” she replied, growing audibly emotional. “I’m a firm believer in: ‘Go see with your own eyes before you pass judgement.’ Go over there cautiously, be cautious, but go see for yourself. I care about both sides. I care about humanity. Human beings.

“I know there’s a lot of religious stuff going on, a lot of control of the land, ‘No Jews here, no this there’ whatever... that’s neither here nor there with me. It’s about human life, human beings. Human beings, man! That’s what I care about. That’s why I’m here.”

In response to social media critics who argued Haddish was wrong to joke about finding a man in Israel given the seriousness of the situation, the comedian replied: “I’m here all by myself. Just like I was saying in 2018 when they were asking me about Mo’Nique and her husband, I said I don’t do my business like she does her business. Because I don’t have a husband. I’m all alone! That’s what I’m trying to tell you guys. I’m doing this all by myself.

“I don’t have a whole family full of men, or a man supporting me. I’m doing it on my own. I’m learning on my own. For people to say... I have to make light of something that the average female wouldn’t do, The average female wouldn’t have the courage to go see for themselves. There’s a lot of scary ass b****es out here, and y’all can be scared, but I’m going to go ahead and follow my instincts, and learn as much as I can learn. Educate myself before I go speaking on subject matters.”

Last November, Haddish addressed her arrest for a suspected DUI offence and said that it would “never happen again”.

The star was taken into custody after she was found asleep at the wheel of her car for the second time in two years.